Over 62 regular season games this season, Kevin Durant averaged 25.1 points while shooting just under 54 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from deep.
In 72 games with the Thunder in 2015-16, Durant averaged 28.2 points per game and shot 50.5 percent from the field and just under 39 percent from 3-point territory.
Durant recently sat down with The Vertical's Michael Lee, who asked him the following question:
Lee: "I know we talked earlier and you said this move wasn't about a ring chase, it was more about how you want to play basketball for your career. How do you feel it has played out for your game, in terms of maybe shots coming easier? Because it seems like you're getting your points, but it's not as much of a grind. Am I right in saying that?"
Durant: "Uh, yeah. Obviously, when you've got a better, when you've got a deeper team, you've got guys that can handle the ball, you've got shooters, you've got guys that can finish at the rim, it just opens it up for everybody. I think we just work well together.
"I scored a lot of points before I came here. I did a lot. This is not the first time I shot 50 percent from the field. It's not the first year I averaged 25 points a game. And I'm not doing it because I'm here with these guys. I've done it before.
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"It's just the fact that when I get my shots – and it's not as much as I got before – but I'm in position to be efficient. I may get in transition a lot more than I did before. I may get it in space more, so I'm allowed to catch and make a decision whether I want to shoot or drive. Simple stuff like that, that's the difference.
"But I had some great years before I got here. It's just a different way I'm getting my points now. It's not much of a grind. But it's still a challenge."
Last year, 38 percent of Durant's shots came after zero dribbles, 26.9 percent were "open," 9.6 percent were "wide open," his usage rate was 30.5 percent and he averaged 5.1 transition points per game.
This year, 46.1 percent of his shots came after zero dribbles, 27 percent were considered "open," 10.9 percent were "wide open," his usage rate was 27.6 percent and he averaged 6.5 transition points per game.
He was a quick learner.
"We've got smart players. My IQ has grown since I've gotten to the league and I realize how important all the moving parts are for the team," Durant explained. "It was an adjustment as far as me being a new guy and having a certain way of playing, talking about the team and adding me in there.
"I'm just figuring how to move without the ball, play in space. But for the most part, it wasn't that difficult as far as the basketball side, it was just the small details that had to get done."
